HHS Provides Four Grants to Build Dental & Nursing Workforce to Serve Rural & Underserved Communities
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today reported the award of more than $1.27 million to the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) to support the training of health workers to serve in rural and underserved communities.
UMMC and USM can use the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants to provide financial and professional support to dentists, nurses, and students as they pursue careers in health care settings, particularly in high-needs and disadvantaged communities.
“A strong health workforce is more necessary than ever as this coronavirus pandemic is showing us. UMMC and USM have very strong and established programs that can help our state meet the demand for qualified health care professionals,” said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over HHS and related agencies.
Health Resources and Services Administration grants going to Mississippi include:
- UMMC – $492,497 Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Program (IPCP): Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) grant to train and education a nursing workforce to provide behavioral health services in rural communities.
- UMMC – $450,000 Postdoctoral Training in General, Pediatric, and Public Health Dentistry grant to enhance postdoctoral dental residency training programs in rural communities.
- USM – $307,480 Nurse Faculty Loan Program grant to provide loans to nursing students, who receive up to 85 percent loan cancellation in exchange for full-time post-graduate employment as nurse faculty.
- USM – $28,323 Nurse Anesthetist Traineeships grant help cover the costs of traineeships for individuals in nurse anesthesia programs.
Press Release
6/19/2020
Sarah Ulmer
